Summary

(a) adding “social condition” to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination;

(b) declaring the refusal by a financial institution to provide a banking service to an individual by reason only of the individual’s low income to be a discriminatory practice;

(c) requiring the Canadian Human Rights Commission to review every bill introduced in or presented to the House of Commons by a minister of the Crown to ascertain whether any of its provisions are likely to result in a discriminatory practice prohibited by the Canadian Human Rights Act; and

(d) requiring the Canadian Human Rights Commission to submit an annual report to the Minister of Justice on the impact of measures taken by the Government of Canada to reduce poverty in Canada and on the amount of money that should be expended annually to reduce that poverty.

The enactment also amends the Criminal Code to change the criminal interest rate set out in section 347 and to include in the calculation of that interest rate the charges paid by a person to obtain insurance coverage.

Mr. Speaker, I am introducing this bill, which is made up of four measures: adding “social condition” to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act; establishing a new prohibited grounds for discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act in cases where financial institutions refuse to provide basic banking services; asking this House to debate poverty for six hours per year; and amending section 347 of the Criminal Code to limit the legal interest rate for lending money in Canada by lowering it from 60% to 35%.